Looking for seasonal flowers this year was difficult. This is a Jetfire type of daffodil. ©Paul Carroll

Its my fault. I posted some nice macro shots of snowdrops in February and committed myself to photographing a set of seasonal flowers throughout the year. A small project I thought would be no harder than waiting two or three weeks for daffodils and crocus. They are usually all around. Not this year. A late spring and the farmers around here can’t remember it being so late.

Finally I got a chance to take my daffodil shot last weekend with some spring like evening sunshine. Finding a good specimen was a challenge, which is a critical element in macro shots of flowers. They were all weathered and looked like they just want to go back to their bulbs for next year.

Using a macro lens ( this was a SIGMA 105mm) plus a wide aperture means the depth of field is going to be very small and whilst getting the background blur I wanted the very front petal is just sliding out of focus.

I decided that as I still like the shot it is a chance to point out that it is sometimes useful to create an image with space to write headlines or text. If you have a magazine or newsletter in mind this is an important consideration in composition. As well as bracketing exposure you can also bracket composition and if you know its a strong image take a portrait, landscape and one with headroom for editorial text. Perhaps someone wants to write an article about the late spring or climate change.

Here is a February Gold except it is April and its looking a bit sorry about that.

Daffodil called a February Gold ©Paul Carroll